‘Arini by Love.inc’ Netflix Movie Review - Incomplete Yet Worthy

Arini by Love.inc is an Indonesian psychological thriller that serves as a spin-off to Love for Sale and Love for Sale 2. It starts with Arini carrying luggage and running away. The story then takes us to three years ago when she can be seen approaching the office of Love.inc which has a flashy board and is located in a secluded place. It looks like a building with many horror stories hidden in it. There was a vacancy in the company and Arini went to apply for the same. Love.inc’s logo is “Find you happiness,” however, you can find everything except happiness. Diana (the woman running the company) gets Arini to sign a contract without allowing her to go into little details. This is the point where the audience should get their hint. Also, the point mentioning that they can use their mind and body as they like starts generating many doubts. The only thing colorful in Love.inc is the company’s board.

Just 15 minutes into the movie and things start appearing scary. Scenes like those in which Tiara was looking in the mirror scared me as I didn’t know what was going to happen. At one instance, I imagined that the woman will smash her head into it, but the next moment you notice the deadly look in her eyes and understand that it is something else. Arini has no memories of her past and with Tiara’s help, she’s going to find some answers and freedom.

In my opinion, Arini by Love.inc has a brilliant plot, but they lacked in creating a masterpiece out of this. The film starts by telling that Arini went to Love.inc for a job and to find happiness, but soon things turn very dark. She's working in a system that doesn't allow her to remember her happy memories and believes in rather erasing them. The concept of Love.inc is very unclear. As per what I've understood, they were training people in a manner that their original soul can be replaced with a new one and that too according to the needs of their client. Right from the contract to the colorless facility, every hint has been given to the audience that these individuals are trapped.

The start and end of the film could've been much better. The opening scene in which we see Arini running, that's the only scene in which I can say that she could've done better as her acting in that particular scene lacked convention. The first scene should always leave an impression on the audience otherwise the movie seems to be dull. After watching it, I thought that this was going to be a waste of time however, soon my opinions changed. Another disappointing thing is that at the end of the film, I felt like the makers were in a hurry to wrap up the project. With no proper answers to the questions they've raised in the mind of the audience, they quickly jump to give a happy ending.

The time duration of the film, just 72 minutes, was very less. I usually appreciate short films, but this one needed more time as there were many parts that either had been skipped or left to the interpretation of the audience. The ending has left many questions in my mind and I desperately wish that the makers come with the second part of Arini by Love.inc so that the audience can know the reality of what happened in that facility three years ago.

Della Dartyan as Arini and Kelly Tandiono as Tiara are the heart of this movie. They've solely carried the burden of the film and turned it into an art. Actors like them need more appreciation and exposure. The cast has done their role brilliantly. I liked how only two shades i.e., black and grey were used to denote that the film contains darkness. Even the background music used was a sign for the audience that either something bad has happened or is going to happen. Summing it up, Arini by Love.inc needed a bit more polishing.

Final Score – [6/10]
Reviewed by - Riya Singh
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Publisher at Midgard Times